The world’s best equestrian athletes and a crowd of 30,000 people were in Cheshire for the 2018 Equerry Bolesworth International Horse Show.

The show, at Bolesworth Castle near Tattenhall, saw five days of show jumping and dressage as well as a host of entertainments, from fairground rides to motorcycle acrobatics.

The sporting highlight was six victories for the double Olympic gold medal winning dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin and a spectacular dressage masterclass from her fellow Olympic gold medallist Carl Hester.

Some of the top showjumpers in the world were in action, including Britain’s Laura Renwick and John Whitaker, Sofia Abramovich, the daughter of the Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, and Eve Jobs, daughter of the Apple Computers founder Steve Jobs.

Triple Olympic gold medallist eventer Andrew Hoy and showjumper Beth Vernon proved a dream team combination as they won a thrilling Bolesworth International Eventing Grand Prix, sponsored by Cazenove Capital.

One of the social highlights was Saturday’s Ladies’ Day - now a key event in the Cheshire summer calendar.

The honour of being named the best dressed on the day went to Shiwon Green, a showjumper and business woman from Gloucestershire, who said: “It was lovely changing from my usual accessories of straw in the hair and shavings in my shoes.

“Hopefully next year I’ll be back in that arena, only this time on a horse.”

A host of celebrities attended the show, including the High Sheriff of Cheshire Alexis Redmond and her husband, the Brookside and Hollyoaks creator Phil Redmond.

ITN newsreader Alastair Stewart, who presented prizes on Ladies’ Day, said: “This is the most magnificent setting for international sport.

“You see the castle on the hill and the grounds sweeping down to one of the most clever and beautiful sporting arenas in the world.”

For 2018, the show opened the new Club Boles - a bar and venue on the edge of the International Arena.

Friday night saw Ibiza Club Classics and on Saturday night, crowds partied to Rick Parfitt Junior and his band.

Rick Parfitt Jr – the racing driver son of the late Status Quo founder member Rick Parfitt - also took part in Saturday evening’s hair-raising Bentley Ride and Drive, a race against the clock for the horse and car.

The competition involved riders jumping six fences and then leaping into a £150,000 Bentley Bentayga V8 to be driven by a celebrity around an obstacle course.

Parfitt, who drove Bolesworth’s show director Nina Barbour following her clear round on her horse, Delilah, said: “My driving was distinctly average, but Nina was amazing. This was one of the best nights of the summer.”

The Shropshire-based Irishman Paul Kennedy led an Irish one-two in Sunday’s thrilling climax, the Equerry Bolesworth International Grand Prix.

Paul, whose stables are in Whitchurch, captured the £30,000 top prize aboard 12 year-old Cartown Danger Mouse to deny his countryman Billy Twomey on Kimba Flamenco by just nine hundredths of a second.

Decorated British Olympian, the 62 year-old Yorkshireman John Whitaker, finished third on Cassinis Chaplin.

The Equerry Bolesworth International Show director Nina Barbour said: “We’re thrilled with this year’s show. Our visitors saw some global superstars of equestrian sport in our international arena and our entertainment was the best yet.

“We are proud to bring world class sport to Cheshire and we’re now looking forward and planning our next event, the Liverpool International Horse Show at the Echo Arena which runs from December 28-31.”